2004-01-30 The Last Warrior

Material provided by: Connie
Origin: New Monday
Date: January 30, 2004
Topic: Deric Wan: The Last Warrior
Written by: Je Fong Fong

Every male creature believes he is a warrior. Deric Wan is no exception. This is Deric Wan's first interview since dating Sonija Kwok. Today he rode the Imperial Crown galloping, arriving half an hour late for the interview. This thirty-nine year-old middle-aged warrior has a good outer appearance which all comes from having a lifestyle of no smoking, no drinking and a healthy social life.

During the interview, he spent two hours telling me about Jesus. It's hard to believe he is the rumored divorced, in debt, mad, lad, owner, king. "I treat her as a castle and I am the castle guard. If you were to attack the castle, I would fight back. If you plan to invade this castle, kill me first!" He made a growl, showing his teeth. The only thing we missed, was he didn't draw his weapon.

He guards the first half of his life and risks his life to find the best territory. This will be the place he will spend the latter half of this life. What is curious is whether this warrior will sacrifice his life or change his position. Most importantly is not be the last warrior with no ratings, no songs and no dramas.

God's Gift

In December 2002, Deric Wan returned to TVB to film [The Legend of Love]. It was during the filming that his acted love towards the leading actress, Sonija Kwok turned to real love. There was an age difference of 11 years between the two. At that time reports came out that he and his x-wife had a debt of three million dollars in Taiwan and also of Sonija having a bad relationship with Steven Ma. The plot thickened and developed a very bad image.

"I first met Sonija Kwok when I had just returned to TVB. I was in the changing room putting on make-up and she was blow-drying her hair. At the time I thought, "Who is she?" My first impression of her was that she was a very sharp girl."

"When we were working together, I had asked her, "Were you one of the Miss HK contestants?" Then I asked a stupid question, "How did you place?" She was stunned and answered, "First place." I simply had to say, "You should be!" I continued to pursue her, "Have you won any prizes?" In that same year she was able to claim a few prizes. Her accomplishments came one by one. I continually to scold myself. Afterwards I slowly realized that she was a very intelligent girl. I was most fond of her kind-heartedness. She doesn't take things personally. She isn't cold as her outer appearance may seem. After knowing each other for some time, you will find that such good people do exist in this world. She is God's most valuable gift to me. I have no regrets in this lifetime."

"Regarding the chaotic reports, they know the news are false but they sacrifice us to make money. If using us will help support them, then I don't mind. What I gain is other's misunderstanding. But in our world all we need is each other's understanding. At one time, there were too many people trying to cause tension between us, but it has backfired. Once you've made up your mind to be with someone for the rest of your life, you will be willing to sacrifice yourself to protect her. All I need to have is some affection towards someone, the person I love. I will love only one person. Is it that difficult to love someone? Right now I have two goals in life, to love her and to do my job well."

"As for my past affairs, I don't keep any of it in my mind. Men have to be persistent but not talk to much. No one respects a man who talks too much. I have no opinion on what the media has written on my love life. I can allow myself not to speak but I cannot demand that others not speak."

Cancer Took Away Dad

Deric Wan says Sonija Kwok is God's most precious gift to him. Two years ago he started to believe in God. Even though he was educated in a Christian school, he didn't belong to a particular religion. His family believed in Buddhism. It wasn't until two years ago when cancer took away his dad, that he started his belief.

"Dad suffered for many years. It was very hard for him and even harder for the family. Seeing him suffer but unable to help was extremely difficult. I felt anxious but I continued to try hard. Money can cure him, but why the more they try to cure him, the more he suffers? I continue to ask myself, "What is the plan?" Dad is the kind of person that wants face and is a very traditional man. He never accepts failures. He will not ask for support. He will always depend on himself. I tried to talk bible to him but it was useless. Instead lighting an incense stick helped him in feeling Buddha's blessings."

"In my entire life, the most difficult part of my acting was visiting my dad at the hospital. Just before opening the door, I would take a deep breathe and say to myself, "Relax and do the best you can! Don't let the old feel bad. No matter how you act, that episode seemed to take many pages."

"Every time after visiting dad, he would grasp my hand and say "I'm okay. Tomorrow you have an early shift. Go home now." But after saying that, he would continue to grasp my hand tightly, not letting go. You would feel really bad. Every time you would think, "What can be done? Can I handle it next time?"

"Once I had made a western suit advertisement in the interior and I hadn't received my HK$800,000 payment yet. At the time I had to pay for dad's medical expenses. The boss called me to say that someone had transferred a couple thousand of dollars from their company, so they were unable to make the payments to me. The cost of medical treatment for cancer can vary from several hundred dollars, to several thousand dollars or even to several tens of thousands of dollars per treatment. We tried all of them. It wasn't only one treatment. For example, each treatment costs ten thousand dollars. He required one treatment every two days. My dad's illness lasted for several years. How much money do you think was spent? The bad news came that I couldn't make the medical payments. I was the main support of the family. At the time my mind was blank and I continued to ask myself, "Why?" I was already worried. My elder brother and younger sister each had their own family and they were only workers. I was dull-minded for a long while. I didn't know what to tell mom and I didn't dare tell my brother or sister. My only choice was to speak to God. I would sincerely pray that this money was extremely important to me, hoping God would help me. Curiously enough, the second day the boss apologized to me and said that he as able to pay me in two installments. Of course first, second and third is a coincidence. But after the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh time, you can longer lie to yourself. All of it was arranged by God."

Leave You The Most Loved Words

"There was a time when the doctor said to me "He doesn't have to use medication anymore." Those words really hurt. What can we do? How can we make him more comfortable? But the answer was, "We cannot do anymore! You must be prepared! But we cannot say when." Countdown can be 10, 9, 8, 7......but when you don't know when to start the countdown, the process is miserable. Slowly I began to feel that dad was giving up on himself. Once he said to me, "Look at the bed beside me, they have changed another person again!" When you see with your own eyes each patient in the room leaving one after the other, you can count on yourself going soon. Looking at the sorrowful family members, listening to other patients moan painful every night, created a pressure that was hard to take."

"When he was finally prepared, I told my dad that I was reading the Holy Bible and for him to try to talk to God. One day I brought with me a tape recorder and told my dad that when he couldn't sleep and I wasn't at his side, he can try recording what he wanted to say. When I left, indeed he did record some words but it took me a long, long time before I had the courage to listen to what he had recorded."

"Dad from being ill to leaving, it took me great efforts to prevent myself from crying. But when I listened to his recording, my tears kept on flowing out. He recorded only a few words. He said, "Believing in religion for so many years, the heart I couldn't open up was my own. I wish Jesus will let me go quickly, so I can be more confortable. I don't want to be a load to you all." One fearless man, leaving this message late at night, I believe he has already accepted the Lord."

Hero Without The Opportunity

Before the interview, Deric Wan's assistant made a special request that the questions not be too direct. In fact these past few years Deric has seldom accepted any interviews. He is not afraid. He doesn't want to because of losing the truth. He said that what has been written in the past is often not his own words, but usually made up by others.

During the interview, he repeated several times, "After been betrayed by someone, you wouldn't trust that person anymore. And that person wouldn't have the courage to face you again because they are afraid."

While talking, he had a solemn look on his face. His eyes looked straight at me. During those moments I was a bit frightened.

I wasn't sure if I would get the opportunity to interview him again, but we were chosen because of our understanding with Mr. Wan. I feared that what we settled on was not capturing enough. Being a women is like hero without the opportunity, even though my composition has always been at its highest standard.

Photos & Chinese version located at www.dericwan.com/article_new/newmonday_20040130.htm